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Jury awards mother $1.2 million after son's death Dec 8, 2006 12:42 AM Jury awards mother $1.2 million after son's death Jury awards mother $1.2 million after son's death Thieves steal scrap metal from the dead Two dogs wildly attack multiple pedestrians Two vicious dogs went on a wild rampage, attacking four people in a westside neighborhood. That attack happened just after 9 a.m. in the 2800 block of Carver Street, near Baldwin and Greenwood. Convenience store robber may be responsible for others Lone survivor of 20-Mounted Horse Marines recalls Pearl Harbor Naval Station Ingleside says goodbye to USS Gladiator Former Robstown teacher awaits release on $250,000 bond KLEBERG COUNTY - A Kleberg County jury awarded $1.2 million to the mother of an accident victim on Thursday. Rudy Gonzalez, 38, was killed back in March of 2004, when his pickup collided nearly head-on with another pickup. The driver of the other truck worked for Schlumberger, and the jury found the oil field service company liable for Gonzalez's death. The victim's mother has lost 40 pounds since the accident, and she is yet to bury his ashes because it's just to painful to let him go. This trial was about finding out who was at fault and trying to move on. The accident happened on March 13, 2004, along Highway 285, between Falfurrias and Kingsville, about eight miles west of Highway 77. There was some debate about who swerved into whose lane and whether both drivers did enough to prevent the accident. But photos show the results were pretty concrete. Gonzalez's Toyota pickup hardly stood up to the full size white Schlumberger pickup. Gonzalez died on impact. Several auto experts testified during the three and a half day trial. The attorney for the victim's family said in the end, the jury felt the Schlumberger driver was most at fault, and that the company was liable. "Certainly, we're responsible for ourselves and our drivers, and companies should be as well," Attorney Robert J. Gonzalez said. The company could not be reached for comment Thursday after the trial. What is interesting is although the Schlumberger driver was found to be at fault, the jury felt the accident was only 70 percent his fault. That means that only 70 percent of the $1.2 million verdict is actually awarded, but the family claims it wasn't nearly as much about the money, as it was about holding someone accountable for what happened. And after two and a half years, they do finally have that.
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